Hinged lid box



April 23, 1957 J, KRAMER 2,789,750

HINGED LID BOX Filed Oct. 6, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. Jose?Xylene),

TTORNIYS.

April23,1957 J. KRAMER 2,789,750

HINGED LID BOX Filed Oct. 6, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E1623 INVENTOR.

dass n K 4M April 23, 1957 J. KRAMER 2,789,750

amass LID BOX Filed Oct. 6, 1955 a Sheets-Sheet -s ;;g 20 INVENTOR. 45:Lse-PH Kemus li,

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent HINGED LID BGX Joseph Kramer, Reading, Ohio,assignor to The Gardner Board and Carton (30., Middletown, Ohio, acorporation of ()hio Application October 6, 1955, Serial No. 538,959

11 Claims. (Cl. 229-36) My invention has to do with hinged lid boxes andmore particularly to the provision of hinged lid boxes having improvedcorner locking means and improved means for maintaining the bottom andlid parts together once the structure has been erected and closed.

Hinged lid boxes of the character contemplated herein are in widespreaduse in the suit box and kindred fields and are preferred by the retailerin that they may be stored in the form of fiat blanks which require aminimum of storage space and readily assembled in the shipping orwrapping room as needed. Considerable difficulty has, however, beenexperienced with this type of box in that the parts, once assembled,have a tendency to come apart at the corner interlocks, particularly ifthe filled box is dropped or subjected to rough handling duringdelivery. Efforts have been made to overcome these difficulties by tyingor taping the boxes; but these expedients are both time consuming andadd to the cost of the package.

It is, therefore, a principal object of my invention to provide animproved hinged lid box in which the corners, once they have beenassembled, cannot be accidentally disengaged, and in which the cover ofthe box, when closed over the bottom, is positively secured to thebottom along three sides thereof.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a hinged lid box inwhich the side and rear walls of the box are reinforced by extensionsformed as integral parts of the one-piece box blank.

These as well as other objects of my invention which will appearhereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the artupon reading these specifications, I accomplish by those constructionsand arrangements of parts of which I shall now describe certainexemplary embodiments.

Figure l is a plan view of a box blank in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view illustrating tonguereceiving cuts in the front wall of the box bottom.

Figure 2a is a plan view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modifiedform of tongue receiving cuts.

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view illustrating the walls of the boxbottom in an intermediate stage of erection.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the manner inwhich one of the corner locks of the box is formed.

Figure 5 is a perspective view similar to Figure 3 illustrating thecorner locks in fully assembled position.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the assembled box with the cover inpartly closed position.

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating the box lid of Figure 6 inthe fully closed position.

Figure 8 is a plan view of a box blank incorporating integrally formedside and rear wall'reinforcing means.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the blank of Figure 8 with the reinforcingparts in initially folded position.

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Figure 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating the blank of Figure9 in partly assembled condition.

Figure 11 is a perspective view illustrating the box of Figure 10 infully assembled position with the cover partially open.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the completely erected and closedbox.

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 1313 ofFigure 12.

As seen in Figure 1, I have illustrated a blank for a hinged lid boxformed from paperboard or boxboard suitably cut and scored to provideintegral bottom and cover parts. The blank provides a bottom part havinga main panel 1, side panels 2 and 3 articulated to opposite sidesthereof, and a front panel 4 articulated to the front edge of the mainpanel. The corner portions at the ends of the front and side walls aredivided into two parts by the diagonal score lines 5 extending outwardlyfrom the corners of the main panel 1 partially through the cornerportions and contacted at their outer ends by the angularly relatedlines of cut 6 which extend outwardly to the free edges of the cornerportions opposite the ends of the side panels, thereby dividing theportions into inner bellows folding parts '7 articulated to the ends ofthe front panel 4 and outer bellows folding and locking parts 8articulated to the ends of the side panels, the latter parts havingoppositely directed tongue portions 9 and 10. The tongue portions 9 aredefined by the lines of cut 6 and the adjacent outer edges of the cornerportions and are of generally triangular configuration. The tongueportions 10 lie at the outer corner edges of the corner por tions andare of generally rectangular configuration, being separated from thebody of the parts d by the score lines 11.

The front panel 4 is provided near each end with configured slitportions 12 and 13 which are adapted, as the structure is assembled, toreceive the tongue portions 9 and 10. As best seen in Figure 2, the slitportion 12, which receives the tongue portion 9, is of what may betermed ear-shaped configuration, having a curved intermediate segmentterminating at its ends in reversely curved segments 14 and 15, the slitthus defining an irregular tab 16.- The slit portion 13 also hasreversely turned end segments 17 and 13 which define a tab- 19.Alternatively, as seen in Figure 2a, the slit portions 12 and 13 may bejoined together in a continuous irregular slit by connecting togetherthe reversely turned segments 14 and 18 of the two slit portions.

Referring again to Figure l, the remainder of the box blank comprises arear wall 20, a lid forming panel 21 having side flanges 22 and 23articulated to opposite side edges thereof and a front flange 24articulated to its remaining edge. Diagonally scored connecting webs 25lie at the ends of the rear wall 20 and serve to interconnect theadjacent end edges of the side panels 2 and 3 to the side flanges 22 and23, respectively, of the cover part.

In order to tightly secure the bottom and cover parts together inerected and closed condition, the front flange 24 is provided withspaced apart recessed tongues 26 and 27 adapted to be engaged throughthe generally U- shaped slits 28 and 29 formed in the front panel 4.Similarly, the side flanges 22 and 23 are provided with recessed tongues30 and 31 adapted to be engaged through the slits 32 and 33 in the sidepanels 2 and 3 of the bottom part, the slits 32 and 33 being similar inconfiguration to the slits 28 and 29.

In erecting and assembling the blank just described, the side panels 2and 3 and the front panel 4 of the bottom part are first erected in themanner illustrated in Figure 3, thereby juxtaposing the inner and outerbellows folding parts 7 and 8, the bellows folding parts extendingoutwardly beyond the front panel 4, whereupon the: bellows folding partsare folded inwardly. As the parts are folded inwardly the bottom,inclined edges of the triangular tongue portions 9 are inserted throughthe slit portrons 12, in the manner illustrated in Figure 4, thebotton-ledges of the tongues sliding along the intermediate portions ofthe slits as they are inserted, followed by the infolding of the tongueportions 10 and their insertion through the slot portions 13. Theinsertion of the tongue portions through the slit portions 12 and 13 isfacilitated by the inward flexing of the tabs 16 and 19 of the slits.The assembled front and side panels are illustrated in Figure of thedrawings wherein it will be seen that the tongue portions are securelyengaged in the slits and hence locked in place. The natural resiliencyof the tabs 16 and 19 acts to maintain the tongue portions in theengaged position and prevents them from being readily withdrawn. Inaddition, it is also within the spirit of my invention to provide thetongue portion 9 with notches 34, as seen in Figure 5, which engageabout the edges of the slit portions 12, thereby providing an additionalpoint of locking engagement.

The cover may be closed down over the box bottom by folding thediagonally scored connecting webs 25 inwardly in the manner seen inFigure 6, whereupon the lid forming panel 21 is moved downwardly withthe side flanges 22 and 23 lying to the outside of the side panels 2 and3, and the front flange 24 lying to the outside of the front panel 4. Asthe side and front flanges are brought into overlapping relation withthe corresponding panels of the bottom part, the recessed tongues, whichpreferably have rounded ends as illustrated, are passed through thecorresponding slits in the panels, thereby bringing the parts to theassembled condition illustrated in Figure 7. It will be noted that theconfiguration of the slits 28, 29, 32 and 33 is such that they havegenerally 8 shaped end segments which interlock with the roundedends ofthe recessed tongues. When in the closed position, it will be seen thatall three sides of the cover part are positively secured to the bottompart. This not only prevents the bottom and cover parts from becomingdisengaged but, in addition, prevents flexing or bending movement of theside and front panels independently of the corresponding cover flanges,thereby strengthening and rigidifying the structure. With respect to thefront flange 24, it will be noted that this flange overlies and coversthe exposed areas of outer bellows folding and locking parts 8 andprovides additional assurance that the tongue portions 9 and will not beaccidentally disengaged from the slit portions. The two spaced aparttongues 26 and 27 assist in this function since they are placed adjacentthe tongue portions 8 and 9 and hence tend to prevent flexing of theadjacent portions of the front flange 24.

It has been found that a hinged lid box constructed in the mannerdescribed is extremely sturdy and may be dropped and otherwise roughlyhandled without the parts becoming disengaged. At the same time theconstruction of the box is such that no more material is required thanin a conventional hinged lid box, nor does the structure require the useof string, tape or the like to secure it together.

In Figure 8, I have illustrated a modified form of my inxentionincorporating integral reinforcing parts for the side and rear walls ofthe box. Since the basic box construction is identical with thatdisclosed hereinbefore, like parts have been given like referencenumerals in the remaining figures of the drawings.

As seen in Figure 8, side panel extensions 40 and 41 are articulated tothe free side edges of side panels 2 and 3, respectively, the extensionshaving cut away portions 42 and 43 in the areas thereof which overliethe configured slits 32 and 33. Reinforcing straps 44 and 45 extendrearwardly from the end edges of the extensions 40 and 41, the strapslying adjacent but separated from the con necting webs and the sideflanges 22 and ,23 of the 4. cover. At their ends the straps areprovided with oppositely directed pairs of slits 46, 47 and 48, 49.

As an incident to the formation of the box blank, the extensions 40 and41 and the straps 44 and 45 will be infolded in the manner illustratedin Figure 9 and the extensions 40 and 41 only will be adhesively securedto the underlying side panels 2 and 3, as by means of adhesive areas 49(Figure 8) previously applied to the upper surfaces of the side panels 2and 3. Alternatively, the adhesive could be applied to the exposed uppersurfaces of the extensions 40 and 41, if so desired. The straps 44 and45 remain free from attachment to the underlying flanges 22 and 23.

Successive stages in the erection and closing of the blank justdescribed are illustrated in Figures 10-12 of the drawings. Uponerection of the front and side panels of the bottom part andinterengagement of the tongue portions, the straps, as seen in Figure10, will be swung across the. box and the oppositely directed slitsinterengaged to secure the straps together in the manner best seen inFigure 11. Thus the box structure has reinforced double thickness sidepanels and a triple thickness rear wall. This provides an extremelysturdy, easily secured and heavily reinforced hinged lid box whichrequires only a minor addition to the amount of boxboard required toform the box blank. Since the reinforcing straps are engaged across therear Wall of the box as an incident of its erection, the use of specialbox making equipment is avoided, as conventional folding and gluingequipment'may be used for the folding of the extensions.

Modifications may, of course, be made in my invention without departingfrom the spirit of it. Having thus described my invention in certainexemplary embodiments, what I desire to secure and protect by LettersPatent is:

1. In a hinged lid box including a main panel, front and side panels, arear wall, and a cover connected to said rear wall, corner connectingmembers joining the ends of the front and side panels, said cornerconnecting members each being divided by a diagonal score line and anangularly related line of cut into an inner bellows folding partarticulated to said front panel and an outer bellows folding and lockingpart articulated to the adjacent side panel, said last named bellowsfolding and locking part including a pair of oppositely directed tongueportions, the parts of said corner connecting members being adapted tobe folded to overlie said front panel, and slit portions in said frontpanel adjacent the ends thereof for receiving the tongue portions ofsaid locking parts.

2. In a hinged lid box having a bottom part including a main panel,front and side panels, a rear wall, and a cover connected to said rearwall, said cover including front and side flanges, corner connectingmembers joining the ends of said front and side panels, said cornerconnecting members each being divided by a diagonal score line and anangularly related line of cut into an inner bellows folding partarticulated to said front panel and an outer bellows folding and lockingpart articulated to the adjacent side panel, said last named lockingpart including a pair of oppositely directed tongue portions, saidcorner connecting members being adapted to be folded to overlie saidfront panel, slit portions in said front panel adjacent the ends thereoffor receiving said tongue portions, recessed locking tongues formed inthe front and side flanges of said cover, and mating tongue receivingslits in the front and side panels of said bottom part for receivingsaid last named locking tongues.

3. In a hinged lid box including a main panel, front and side panels, arear wall, and a cover connected to said rear wall, corner connectingmembers joining the ends of the front and side panels, said cornerconnecting members each being divided by a diagonal score line andanangularly related line of cut into an inner bellows folding partarticulated to said front panel and an outer bellows foldingand lockingpart articulated to the adjacent side panel, said last named lockingpart including a pair of oppositely directed tongue portions, extensionsarticulated to the free side edges of said side panels, and strapmembers connected to the end edges of said extensions adjacent said rearwall, said corner connecting members being adapted to be folded tooverlie said front panel, slit portions in said front panel forreceiving the tongue portions of said locking parts, said extensionlying in infoldcd condition and adhesively secured to the underlyingside panels, said strap members being adapted to be folded across therear of said box in juxtaposed relation, and means for joining togetherthe juxtaposed strap members.

4. In a hinged lid box including a main panel, front and side panels, arear wall, and a cover connected to said rear wall, corner connectingmembers joining the ends of the front and side panels, said cornerconnecting members each being divided by a diagonal score line and anangularly related line of cut into an inner bellows folding partarticulated to said front panel and an outer bellows folding and lockingpart articulated to the adjacent side panel, said last named lockingpart including a pair of oppositely directed tongue portions, extensionsarticulated to the free side edges of said side panels, and strapmembers connected to the end edges of said extensions adjacent said rearwall, said corner connecting members being adapted to be folded tooverlie said front panel, slit portions in said front panel forreceiving the tongue portions of said locking parts, recessed lockingtongues formed in the front and side flanges of said cover, and matingtongue receiving slits in the front and side panels of said bottom partfor receiving said last named locking tongues, said extensions lying ininfolded condition and adhesively secured to the underlying side panels,said strap members, in the erected box, being adapted to be foldedacross the rear of the box in juxtaposed relation, and means for joiningtogether the juxtaposed strap members.

5. In a collapsible box having a main panel and front and side panelsconnected to said main panel, corner connecting members joining the endsof said front and side panels, said corner members each being divided bya diagonal score line and an angularly related line of cut into an innerbellows folding part articulated to said front panel and an outerbellows folding and locking part articulated to the adjacent side panel,said last named locking part including a pair of oppositely directedtongue portions, the parts of said corner connecting members beingadapted to be folded to overlie said front panel, and slit portions insaid front panel adjacent the ends thereof for receiving the tongueportions of said locking parts.

6. The structure claimed in claim 5 wherein said score line extendsoutwardly from the adjacent corner of the main panel partially throughthe corner member and is contacted at its outer end by the angularlyrelated line of cut, the said line of cut extending outwardly from theend of said score line to the free edge of the corner member oppositethe end of the side panel to which said corner member is connected.

7. The structure claimed in claim 6 wherein a first of said oppositelydirected tongue portions is defined by the said line of cut and theadjacent outer edge of the corner connecting member, and wherein theother of said tongue portions lies at the outer corner edge of the saidcorner member.

8. The structure claimed in claim 7 wherein said first named tongueportion is of generally triangular configura tion, and wherein the otherof said tongue portions is of generally rectangular configuration and isseparated from the body of said locking part by means of a score line.

9. The structure claimed in claim 8 wherein the slit portion forreceiving the said triangular tongue portion is of ear-shapedconfiguration, and wherein the slit portion for receiving the other ofsaid tongue portions lies in spaced relation to said first namedear-shaped slit portion.

10. The structure claimed in claim 8 wherein the slit portion forreceiving said triangular tongue portion is of ear-shaped configuration,and wherein the slit portion for receiving the other of said tongueportions is formed as an integral extension of said ear-shaped slitportion.

11. The structure claimed in claim 10 wherein said triangular tabportions include notches at the point of juncture between said diagonalscore line and said an gularly related line of cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

